The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gasification process plants for chemical production and/or to integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to black water processing systems for treating black water produced by gasification.
Fossil fuels, such as coal, coke, or petroleum, may be gasified for use in the production of electricity, chemicals, synthetic fuels, or for a variety of other applications. Gasification involves reacting a carbonaceous fuel and oxygen at a very high temperature to produce syngas, a fuel containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which burns more efficiently and cleaner than the fuel in its original state. A byproduct of gasification is black water, which may include particles of ash, metals, ammonia, and organic matter as well as dissolved gases. The black water may be subjected to a flash separation process to separate dissolved gases from the black water. The flash separation process may generate hot vapor streams that may be cooled before further processing.